Ryder scores twice as Bruins complete sweep of Canadiens

Former Montreal forward Michael Ryder scored twice and assisted
on David Krejci's goal to help Boston complete a four-game sweep
of the Canadiens with a 4-1 victory Wednesday night.

Tim Thomas made 26 saves, and Phil Kessel also scored for the
Bruins, who won the Eastern Conference quarterfinal for their
first playoff series win in 10 years.

"Yeah, it's definitely a good feeling to beat your old team here
in Montreal and make it the last one," said Ryder, who signed as
a free agent after he was a healthy scratch for all but four of
the Canadiens' 12 playoff games last season. "I kind of actually
forgot about what happened last year. I'm a Bruin now and it's a
lot of fun."

Top-seeded Boston had lost five straight series -- falling to
Montreal in 2002, '04 and '08 -- since beating Carolina in the
first round in 1999.

"Since I got here that was the goal and we tried to improve
every year and tried to get better," said Bruins captain Zdeno
Chara, who left Ottawa as a free agent to sign with Boston for
the 2006-07 season.

"Obviously, the first year we didn't make the playoffs and the
second year we lost in Game 7, now this year we're moving on to
the second round but I don't think, 'This is it, we should be
satisfied.' We all know we have to go towards the goal and this
is just the first step."

Andrei Kostitsyn gave Montreal a 1-0 lead 39 seconds in and the
Canadiens dominated the scoring chances in the opening period,
outshooting Boston 16-7.

The Bruins, though, went to the dressing room with a 2-1 lead
after Ryder and Krejci scored 1:58 apart late in the period.

"That's always the goal, to be tied or be ahead after the first,
especially on the road," Chara said. "That puts a lot of
pressure on the home team and you know that going into the
second period that it's always tougher for them because they
know they're one goal behind and they have to press even more,
so you just to be patient and play smart."

Kessel extended the lead to 3-1 when he stepped out of the
penalty box and drove the right side before putting a low shot
past Carey Price 11:58 into the second for his fourth goal in
four games.

Ryder, who scored the winner Monday night in a 4-2 victory, got
his second of the game -- his fourth of the series -- at 12:43
when he scored off a Krejci's cross-ice pass.

Montreal completed its 100th season with eight straight losses,
including its last four regular-season games.

"They came in first in the conference for a reason," Canadiens
left wing Chris Higgins said. "They've got a lot of depth on
that team and they play well as a unit so it's no surprise why
they played as solidly against us as they did in the series."

The fans gave Price a sarcastic cheer when he stopped Chuck
Kobasew's 80-foot dump-in 15:38 into the second.

The sophomore goalie raised his arms above his head, offering
the crowd the same response Patrick Roy gave when he was
subjected to similar mock cheers on his way to allowing nine
goals in what would prove to be the future Hall of Famer's final
game with the Canadiens, an 11-1 loss to Detroit at the Montreal
Forum on Dec. 2, 1995.

"I suppose he could have kept his cool and not made any gesture
towards the crowd, but on the other hand when you're being
bullied, basically, if you don't stand up for yourself, who's
going to?" Canadiens GM and coach Gainey said. "By my count he
must have had three or four breakaways to stop in the second
period so where is the basis for the jeering coming from?"

Price went the distance and made 26 saves. He started all four
games, though he was pulled in Game 2 after allowing five goals
through the first two periods.

The sold-out Bell Centre crowd was squarely behind the Canadiens
at the outset when Kostitsyn took Saku Koivu's pass and beat
Thomas with a partially screened shot into the top right corner.

Ryder tied it at 1 with his third goal of the series with 2:33
remaining in the first. Canadiens defenseman Roman Hamrlik
pushed the puck forward into the slot and Ryder jumped on the
opportunity to drive a one-timer past Price.

Krejci worked a give-and-go with Ryder to set up the second
goal, taking his linemates return pass to score into a wide open
left side with 34.4 seconds left in the opening period.

Milan Lucic returned to the Bruins' lineup after serving a
one-game league suspension Monday and fought with Mike Komisarek
late in the second.

Komisarek got a major and a game misconduct 12:39 into the third
for cross-checking Lucic. Komisarek missed 16 games from Nov. 15
to Dec. 16 after injuring his shoulder in a fight with Lucic.